Jerilyn Pester and Jana Thurber – Montrose, Colorado … Women from New Mexico, Wyoming, and Colorado met together for the annual Western Slope Rocky Mountain Women’s Retreat at Mountain Top Retreat west of Montrose, Colorado, September 15-17.
The event was blessed to welcome Dr. Jo Ann Davidson, a Professor of Systematic Theology also at Andrews University, to explore “Women of Strength and Beauty” in the Bible. A celebration of music was provided by Carol Ryan, Maggie Peterson, Jeanna Tullio, Michele Grimmett, Staci Nelson, and Pam Dupper.
A special tribute was made to celebrate Katie Jo Schwinn, a member of the Delta Seventh-day Adventist Church, who will be greatly missed. There was a special dinner served by kitchen volunteers to 75 participants who were adorned with tiaras.
The young participants enjoyed a hayride in the afternoon, and, in the evening, all participants were treated to a spa night.
Also attending the retreat this were 12 beautiful ladies from the LaVida Mission Church in Farmington, New Mexico. Most were newly baptized members this year, and a few are still studying to become members. But all were first time attendees.
When asked how she enjoyed her first Women’s Ministries retreat, one newly baptized LaVida Mission church member wrote this heartfelt response: “I was newly baptized back in April. I am still learning, but, when I meet others who are kind and encourage me, it’s okay not to know everything. It’s a relief. Our speaker, Jo Ann, said that ‘Jesus’ favorite place was in the mountains.’ I think everyone’s favorite place should be in the mountains.”
Another responded, “I enjoyed my time here. I like nature. It was peaceful and I got to explore new places and hear the birds chatting. The voices of the women were beautiful. I’ve never been around that many women before. The meetings were amazing. It was a lesson taught and preached very well.”
“I was blessed by the Mountain Top retreat,” commented a mother who came with her daughter. The connection with our Lord grows within us as we keep going to our meetings and worship. The messages of the women in the Bible were very encouraging and uplifting. This retreat has shown me our beauty is not only on the outside, but the beauty we have on the inside as well. This was an amazing experience for my daughter and me. We feel closer to Jesus and more confident in ourselves. And the feeling of that connection is the biggest blessing we could ever ask for.”
A huge thank you to Judy Kelley, Jerilyn Pester, and their entire Women’s Ministries Team for the hard work and creative energies they put into making this a spiritual mountaintop experience for the Western Slope Adventist women. God was glorified, fellowship was cherished, and hearts encouraged by the work of their hands and the in-depth messages by Dr. Jo Ann Davidson from God’s word for women.
—Jerilyn Pester is coordinator of Western Slope Women’s Ministries, and Jana Thurber is the RMC women’s ministries and prayer ministries director as well as pastoral spouse support. Photos supplied.
